A relic belonging to a Hindu civilization that flourished in Vietnam for over 1,000 years until the 18th century was discovered for the first time in Gia Lai province, local officials announced Tuesday.

Experts from the central highlands province’s Department of Culture and Information found a Champa tower thought to belong to the 14th-15thcentury hidden under a forest on a hill slope.

The structure, in Krong Pa district, measures 5-6.9 meters and has a damaged tower. Its central portion, possibly the sanctum, has a deep hole of one meter diameter with bricks around it.

The bricks are of different sizes but all of them weigh 14 kilograms and appear to have been baked to very high temperatures.

The tower was in danger of being inundated by the nearby KrongNang River, the department said.

The kingdom of Champa (or Chiem Thanh in Sino-Vietnamese records) controlled what is now south and central Vietnam from around the 7th century through 1832.

Their architecture and art, although influenced by the Hindu themes of India and Southeast Asia, have many elements that make them distinctive.